Tape folding mechanism



Oct. 5, 1954 F. J. BOSLEY TAPE FOLDING MECHANISM Filed April 50, 1951 FlG.l.

FIG.4.

ATTORNEYS IN V EN TOR.

Patented Oct. 5, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TAPE FOLDING MECHANISM Frank J. Bosley, Detroit, Mich.

Application April 30, 1951, Serial No. 223,780 I (01. 270-73) 22 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to tapefolding mechanism and more particularly to an adding machine having means for providing transverse oppositely directed folds or creases in the tape.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an attachment or sub-, assembly for an adding machine comprising a pair of creasing rolls intermediate th tape supply roll and tape feed roll of the adding machine, the creasing rolls being provided with cooperating slots and creasing blades.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide creasing mechanism comprising a pair of creasing rolls associated with the feed roll of an adding machine including means effective to rotate the creasing rolls substantially 90 degrees once during each complete rotation of the feed roll and to cause the 90 degrees rotation of the creasing rolls to take place during a substantially smaller angular movement of the feed roll.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide tape creasing mechanism including means intermediate the tape creasing mechanism and feed roll to provide a surplus of tape to compensate for differential advance of the tape at the feed roll and at the creasing rolls.

Other objects and features of the invention willbecome apparentas the description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein; s Y

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical section through a portion of an adding machine illustrating the improvedtape creasing mechanisma'ssociated therewith.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 3-3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 44, Figure '3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse section showing the relationship between a creasing slotand blade.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a blade provided with pins for penetrating the tape.

Referring now to the drawings, in Figure 1 there is illustrated a portion of an adding machine including a tape supply roll I0 mounted for rotation on a shaft I2, and a feed roll I4 mounted for rotation on a shaft I 6. Intermediate the supply roll I E! and the feed roll I4 is a guide roller I8 over which the tape T advances. Intermediate the guide roller I8 and the feed roll I4 is a flat guide tray 20 having side plates 22 thereon.

The foregoing mechanism is standard on adding machines and advance of the tape T from the supply roll I 0 to the feed roll I4 is effected by positive power driven rotation of the feed roll upon printing of each row of figures. Rotation of the feed roll I4 tensions the tape T over the guide roller I8 and withdraws tape from the supply roll I2.

In many operations tapes of extreme length are produced and sometimes it is important to retain these tapes for record purposes. A present practice is to fold the tapes more or less haphazardly into uniform lengths in a zigzag formation. This is a time-consuming operation at best and furthermore is one which is never done carefully, with the result that the folded tapes are unsightly and not susceptible of ready storage.

According to the present invention means are provided which operate automatically during operation of the adding machine to provide-oppositely facing transverse creases at uniform intervals on the tape. When a length of tape provided with these creases is properly handled it tends to fall intov a uniform zigzag neatly folded formation. In fact, if a receptacle is provided in the form of a rectangular box having an open top, the tape will automatically fold itself into the receptacle.

The mechanism for providing the alternate oppositely directed creases at uniform intervals feed roll I4 at opposite sides of the guide tray or plate 20 are an upper creasing roll 25, and a lower creasing roll 28. In an area intermediate the creasing rolls 26 and 28, an enlarged opening 30 is provided in the guide plate 20.

Conveniently, the rolls 26 and 28 may be mountedjor-rotation onshafts32 and 34 respectively and the shafts 32 and 34 may be geared together by the gears 36 and 38 respectively so as to assure synchronous rotation of the rolls 26 and 28.

The means for providin the sharply folded creases indicated at 40, on the tape T is best illustrated in Figure 5. In this figure the rolls 2G and 28 are illustrated in section and it will be observed that the roll 26 is provided with a relatively deep slot 42. The roll 28 is provided with a thin flexible blade 44. Conveniently, at least the outer portions of the rolls 26 and 28 may be formed of rubber Or the like, although this is not necessary and the specific material of the rolls is not important. The rolls 26 and 28, being geared together, always rotate in opposite directions and they are interconnected so that the flexible blade 44 passes into and out of the corresponding slot 42 once during each rotation of the rolls. Each of the rolls 26 and 28 is provided with one slot and one flexibl blade so that upon a complete rotation of the rolls 26 and 28, two oppositely facing creases are provided in the tape T.

It will be observed that the slot 42 is relatively deep and is of such width that it presses the sides of the tape T firmly against the edges of the blade 44 adjacent the free edge thereof. The blade 44 may be extremely thin metal so 3 that the tape is provided with a very sharp well defined crease.

In the usual adding machine the feed roll I4 has a circumference of approximately four inches. Experience has indicated that it is desirable to provide adjacent oppositely extending creases at intervals of about eight inches on the tape. This is accomplished in the present apparatus by providing cam means for rotating the creasing rolls in accordance with rotation of the feed roll. For this purpose the shaft l6 of the feed roll 14 carries a cam having a camming projection 48 thereon. Mounted for rocking movement against the inner side of one of the side plates 24 is an actuating lever 50 provided with a pivot support as indicated at 52 and comprising a first relatively short arm 54 having its end engaged in the path of movement of the camming projection 48. The lever 50 includes a second arm 56 substantially longer than the arm 54. The arm 56 includes an arcuately offset portion 58 to accommodate the shaft 34 of the roll 28 and includes an angular actuating portion 60 at the free end thereof.

The roll 28 is provided at its ends with a plurality of cam projections 52 adapted to be engaged by the portion 60 of the lever 50. As best seen in Figure 3, the cam projection 62 has a face 64 extending at right angles to the end surface of the roll 28 and an inclined camming portion 66. The lever 50 may be mounted loosely on its pivot support 52 or its arm 54 may be laterally resilient so that as the lever is rocked back and forth it effects intermittent rotation of the roll 28.

The camming projections 62 are four in numher and are spaced at QO-degree intervals on the inner surface of the roll 28.

A lever abutment 68 is provided and serves as a support for a lever biasing spring 10 which is effective to retain the lever 50 in the full line position shown in Figure 1, except when actuated by the camming projection 48.

Once during each rotation of the cam 46 the projection 48 encounters lever arm 54 and swings the lever about its pivot support 52 in a clockwise direction as seen in Figure 1. The end portion 60 of the lever arm 56 engages one of the camming portions 62 and positively rotates the roll 28 in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Figure 1. As soon as the camming portion 48 passes beyond the end of the lever arm 54 the spring 10 returns the lever to its full line position, the resilient nature of the arm permitting it to ride up over the inclined surface 66 of the following cam. The pivot support 52 is located such that passage of the camming portion 48 past the lever arm 54 results in 90 degrees of rotation of the creasing rolls 26 and 28. Moreover, the creasing slots 42 and creasing blades 44 are located such that between actuations of the creasing rolls, the slots and blades are located 45 degrees ahead of or beyond the center line joining the axis of the creasing rolls.

It will be observed in Figure 1 that the creasing rolls 26 and 28 are spaced apart so that the tape T may be drawn freely between the rolls except when engaged by one of the creasing blades.

Although the parts as illustrated in Figure 1 are designed such that peripheral advance of the creasing rolls 26 and 28 will be greater than the peripheral advance of the feed roll 14, nevertheless, in some cases it may be desirable to provide an excess or fullness in the tape T intermediate the creasing rolls and the feed roll. This is particularly true since the creasing operation forces a substantial quantity of tape into the relatively deep creasing slots. To provide for this operation the excess of tape intermediate the creasing rolls and feed roll may be desirable. A simple manner of providing excess tape at this point is to provide a resilient rubber member 14. The rubber member 14 extends laterally from the support plate 20 and provides an excess quantity of tape as is clearly apparent from Figure 1. If tape intermediate the creasing rolls and the feed roll is advanced onto the feed roll faster than it can be drawn from the creasing rolls, or if it is drawn reversely into the slot 42 by the blade 44, this is accommodated merely by the deflecting body 14 moving transversely.

The foregoing mechanism is extremely simple in construction, efficient in operation, and represents either an attachment which may be added to an adding machine or a sub-combination which may be included therein as original equipment. In any case it does not interfere with the operation of the machine in any way and provides the valuable function of transversely creasing the tape at uniform intervals. It will be observed that during the operation of the adding machine, the creasing rolls are intermittently advanced substantially degrees once during every rotation of the feed roll I4. Moreover, this QO-degree advance of the creasing rolls takes place during a much smaller angular advance of the feed roll I4. In the illustrated embodiment 90 degrees of rotation is imparted to the creasing rolls during substantially less than 30 degrees of rotation of the feed roll. Moreover, since each of the creasing rolls is provided with only a single creasing slot and creasing blade, a transverse fold is provided on the tape only upon alternate rotations of the feed roll. Since the feed roll has a circumference of approximately four inches, this means that the tape will be creased every eight inches.

One of the important advantages of the present invention is that it provides the folding creases intermediate adjacent lines of numbers on the tape. In all adding machines, a definite number of uniformly spaced lines of printing are produced upon each complete rotation of the feed roll. Since the creasing roll is rotated a definite predetermined angular amount during each rotation of the feed roll, it follows that by positioning the creasing mechanism at a proper distance from the feed roll, the creases may all be caused to fall between adjacent lines of printing on the tape. When the tape is folded manually it is impractical to insure that each fold extends between adjacent lines of numbers. Accordingly, the folded tape may include several folds extending through a line of numbers with the result that this line of numbers will be dinicult to read at best, and may become partially or entirely obliterated in time. By locating the creasing rolls properly with reference to the feed roll, the creases may invariably be caused to appear intermediate adjacent lines of numbers.

While the foregoing described embodiment of the invention contemplates the provision of grooves or slots in the creasing rolls, it is possible to obtain the same effect with a somewhat different construction. If the material of the creasing rolls is sufficiently soft and resilient, as a result for example when the outer portion of the roll is formed of foam rubber, the creasing blades as they pass through the zone between the creasing roll, embed themselves in the resilient material of the opposite roll, thus forming a slot or groove therein during the operation. In this case, as in the case of rolls having preformed slots or grooves therein, the material of the roll will press the tape firmly around portions of the blade directly adjacent its free edge, thus forming a sharp well defined crease.

If the diameter of the rolls is sufl'iciently small and the amount by which the blades project therefrom is such that they do not embed themselves too far into the resilient material of the adjacent roll, rigid blades will be employed. However, in some cases blades which are transversely flexible are desirable.

In order to prevent the possibility of motion between the free edge of the blades 1ongitudi nally of the tape, the edges of the blades may be provided with very small sharp pin points adapted to penetrate the paper so as to positively prevent sliding motion of the edge of the blade along the paper. In this case of course the blade will be flexible so that the differential motion resulting from the different paths of advance of the edges of the blades and the peripheral portions of the adjacent roll will be accommodated by slight flexing of the creasing blades. This arrangement is illustrated in Figure 6 where the blade 80 is shown as provided with a pair of spaced apart pin points 82. As shown, the pin points 32 may be located to penetrate the tape adjacent the edges thereof. Obviously, if desired, more than two pin points could be provided although two are ordinarily found to be sufficient.

While the creasing rolls have been shown as associated at opposite sides of the guide plate 20, the guide plate 20 may be omitted if desired. Furthermore, while the means for rotating the creasing rolls is herein illustrated as involving cams and a lever system interconnecting the feed roll and creasing rolls, it will be appreciated that other mechanism for effecting periodic advance of the creasing rolls may be employed.

It may be mentioned that the reason for employing thin lateral flexible creasing blades of the type described herein is to permit the. blades to flex as they advance into radial straight-sided slots in the opposite creasing roll. The parts illustrated in Figure obviously cannot run together in the manner of a gear but interference between the parts is prevented due to the lateral flexibility of the creasing blade. Moreover, the blade 44 may be extremely thin since it is gradually guided into the slot without any substantial tendency to bend the blade transversely. As soon as the free edge of the blade has entered partly into the slot it is prevented from transverse movement except as required to accommodate itself to the slot.

It is found that the flexible blade may be so thin that substantially knife edge creases may be produced in the tape.

Tapes provided with the folds as previously described automatically assume a neat folded relationship if permitted to do so, thus facilitating storage and handling of the tape. Moreover, the transverse fold arrangement of the tape permits the double folds of tape material to be handled like the leaves of a book, thus facilitating checking and re-examination of the tape record.

The drawings and the foregoing specification constitute a description of the improved tape folding mechanism in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim as'my invention is:

1. An adding machine comprising a freely rotatable tape supply roll, a tape feed roll, means for rotating said feed rolls, tape creasingmecham'sm intermediate said rolls comprising a pair of creasing rolls, each of said creasing rolls including a creasing slot and a creasing blade movable into the creasing slot of the other creasing roll, said creasing rolls being spaced apart to permit free passage of tape therebetween except when one of said blades presses the tape into one of said slots and actuating means for effecting intermittent rotation of said creasing rolls in such manner that for a part of a cycle of rotation thereof, said creasing rolls remain at rest While said feed roll advances tape past said creasing rolls, and for the following portion of said cycle, said creasing rolls are rotated at a peripheral speed greater than that of said feed roll, said actuating means being responsive to a predetermined angular advance of said feed roll for effecting rotation of said creasing rolls in timed relation to rotation of said feed roll.

2. Structure as defined in claim 1 in which said actuating means comprises cams on one of said creasing rolls, a cam on said feed roll a lever actuated by the cam on said feed roll and engageable with the cams on said one creasing roll, the cams on said creasing rolls being spaced 90 degrees apart and located so as to produce movement of a slot and blade through the space between said creasing rolls once during two rotations of said feed roll, and means for driving said other creasing roll from said one creasing roll.

3. Structure as defined in claim 1 in which said creasing blades are flexible to conform to said slots.

4. Structure as defined in claim 1 comprising tape looping means intermediate said feed roll and said creasing rolls to accumulate excess tape during non-creasing periods and to surrender it during creasing periods. V

5. Structure as defined in claim 4, saidmeans comprising a deflectable blade engaging one side of the tape and normally providing fullness in said tape.

6. An adding machine comprising a freely rotatable tape supply roll, a tape feed roll; tape creasing mechanism intermediate said rolls comprising a pair of spaced creasing rolls, each of said creasing rolls including acreasing slot and a creasing blade movable into the creasing slot of the other creasing roll, intermittent actuating means operated in timed relation to operationof said feed roll to effect QO-degrees rotation of said creasing rolls during substantially less angular advance of said feed roll, said slots and blades being located such that a slot and bladev move into and out of registry during a -degree rotation of said creasing rolls.

7. An adding machine comprising a freely rotatable tape supply roll, a tape feed roll, tape creasing mechanism intermediate said rolls comprising a pair of spaced creasing rolls, each of said creasing rolls including a creasing slot and a creasing blade movable into the creasing slot of the other creasing roll, intermittent actuating means operated in timed relation to operation of said feed roll to effect QO-degree rotation of said creasing rolls during substantially less angular advance of said feed roll, said slots and blades 7. being located such that a slot and blade move into and out of registry during a 90-degree rotation of said creasing rolls, each of said creasing rolls provided with only a single slot and groove, whereby a slot and groove move through registry only during alternate QO-degrees rotation thereof.

8. Tape creasing mechanism for an adding machine having a freely rotatable supply roll and a tape feed roll, means for rotating said feed roll, said mechanism comprising a pair of spaced parallel creasing rolls located intermediate said feed and supply rolls at opposite sides of the path of advance of the tape, the spacing of said creasing rolls permitting free advance of the tape except during a creasing operation, each of said creasing rolls including a creasing slot and a creasing blade movable into the slot of the other roll, the slot and blade on each roll being 180 degrees apart, means operable once during each rotation of the feed roll to efiect QO-degrees rotation of said creasing rolls in such manner that for a part of a cycle of rotation thereof, said creasing rolls remain at rest while said feed roll advances tape past said creasing rolls, and for the following portion of said cycle, said creasing rolls are rotated at a peripheral speed greater than that of said feed roll, said means being responsive to a predetermined angular advance of said feed roll for effecting rotation of said creasing rolls.

9. Structure as defined in claim 8 in which said means includes drive means actuated by rotation of said feed roll, driven means actuated by said drive means and operatively connected to one of said creasing rolls for rotating said one creasing roll, and means connecting said creasing rolls for rotation.

10. Structure as defined in claim 9 in which said means includes four cams on the feed roll, a cam on said one creasing roll spaced 90 degrees apart, a lever actuated by the cam on said feed roll and engageable with the cams on said one creasing roll to rotate the same said cams and lever being constructed and arranged to rotate said creasing roll 90 degrees once during each rotation of the feed roll and during substantially less angular advance of said feed roll.

11. Structure as defined in claim 8 in which said blades are laterally flexible.

12. Structure as defined in claim 8 in which said blades are flexible metal, and said slots are suificiently narrow as to pinch the tape and form a sharp crease around the blades.

13. Structure as defined in claim 8 in which means are provided for accumulating excess tape during non-creasing periods and surrendering it during creasing periods.

14. Structure as defined in claim 13 in which said last means comprises a defiectable member pressing against one side of the tape.

15. Structure as defined in claim 8, said slots and blades having rest positions at 45 degrees from the line joining the axes of said creasing rolls.

16. An adding machine comprising a freely rotatable tape supply roll, a tape feed roll, means for rotating said feed roll, tape creasing mechanism intermediate said supply roll and feed roll, said creasing mechanism comprising a creasing roll having a radial creasing blade thereon, drive means for efiecting intermittent rotation of said creasing roll once during each rotation of said feed roll, and creasing means associated with said creasing blade arranged to press portions of tape advancing from said supply roll to said feed roll against portions of said blade directly adjacent its edge to form a sharp crease therein, said creasing mechanism being constructed to provide for free advance of the tape during periods when said creasing roll is at rest said drive means being arranged to drive said creasing roll a definite predetermined angular sub-multiple of the rotation of the feed roll during a part of each complete rotation of the feed roll and to cause said creasing roll to remain at rest during the remainder of the complete rotation of the feed roll so that creases produced by said creasing roll are spaced uniformly along the tape in even multiples of the circumference of the feed roll whereby such creases may be caused to appear between adjacent lines of printing on the tape.

17. Structure as defined in claim 16 comprising a second creasing roll having a radial blade and located on the opposite side of said tape from the first creasing roll, and creasing means associated therewith.

18. Structure as defined in claim 1'? in which portions of each creasing roll constitute the creasing means cooperable with the creasing blade on the other creasing roll.

19. Structure as defined in claim 18, said creasing means comprising slots in said rolls.

20. Structure as defined in claim 18, the edges of said blades having pin projections adapted to prevent slippage of said blades along the tape.

21. Structure as defined in claim 20;. said blades being flexible to provide for limited transverse bending as they pass through the zone between said creasing rolls.

22. Tape creasing mechanism for an adding machine having a freely rotatable tape supply roll, and a tape feed roll, said mechanism comprising a pair of spaced parallel creasing rolls located at opposite sides of the path of advance of the tape intermediate said supply roll and said feed roll, said creasing rolls being spaced apart to provide for free withdrawal of tape from said supply roll by said feed roll except during a creasing operation, tape creasing means on said creasing rolls engageable with opposite sides of the tape to form a sharp transverse crease therein, means for driving said creasing rolls in creasing rotation at intervals determined by advance of a predetermined length of tape, said creasing rolls being rotatable in a direction to withdraw tape from said supply roll and to advance tape toward said feed roll, the means for driving said creasing rolls being adapted to drive said creasing rolls at a peripheral speed sufficient to withdraw an excess of tape from said supply roll and to advance an excess of tape into the space between said creasing rolls and feed roll during the creasing operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 924,794 Klein June 15, 1909 946,393 Nichols Jan. 11, 1910 1,003,446 Gauch Sept. 19, 1911 1,182,296 Morden May 9, 1916 1,790,559 Swift, Jr. Jan. 27, 1931 2,414,631 Whalen Jan. 21, 1947 2,531,213 Hand Nov. 21, 1950 2,546,075 Meadowcroft Mar. 20, 1951 

